Denny Zane

Denny created Move LA in 2007 to bring together business, labor and environmental leaders and organizations with the goal of raising significant new funding for LA County’s transit system. This coalition helped lead the campaign for the Measure R sales tax, and proved to be a powerful force in getting Measure R on the 2008 ballot and winning its passage, with the result that LA has embarked on an ambitious build-out of its transportation system. Previously Denny served on the Santa Monica City Council, including one term as mayor, during which time he initiated the revitalization of the Third Street Promenade. He wrote much of the land use policy for Santa Monica’s downtown, emphasizing pedestrian amenities, mixed-use development, and effective transit access — before these policies became known as “smart growth.” Denny was also executive director of the Coalition for Clean Air, and began his career by founding Santa Monicans for Renters Rights in the late ’70s, a progressive community coalition that has held a city council majority in Santa Monica for 24 of the last 30 years.